Articles & Comments

The Alley Timeline and Timeline Summaries are now current through December 2014. The updated Timeline includes 2431 songs over 70 years. The 34 new songs aim to represent 2014 for posterity's sake, big hits as well as critical favorites, and new artists as well as a few old favorites who are still kickin' it.

I'm happy to announce the latest annual update to the Rock 'n Soul Alley Timeline, which now extends from 1945 through December 2012.

For the fourth year in a row, 34 new songs made the cut from all corners of the musical landscape. Among the newbies are gems from Carolina Chocolate Drops, Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, Frank Ocean, Miguel, and Kendrick Lamar.

Each year from early December through mid-January, music journalists
post lists of their favorite songs and albums of the year. These
lists provide me an opportunity to catch up with the best music I've
missed during the preceding 12 months.

This time of year is when I decide which songs to add to the
Timeline. In recent years I've added 34 new songs and roughly 20
older songs per year. The new songs aim to capture the year's
musical highlights, while the older songs attempt... (more)

This blog topic
is set aside for conversations about the Timeline. All other song
lists on the Alley are created, viewed, and discussed
on the
Playlists
page. To discuss individual songs, click on that song's title in the
Timeline.

Check out FAQ Timeline
for detailed
information about song selection, dating,
and sequencing.

I've been
compiling chronological playlists for four decades. Until 1998 I
designed ... (more)